The dominant Orientalist vision functioned as intelligence gathering for colonial occupation

Evidence

However, when Curzon referred somewhat inelegantly to Oriental studies as “the necessary furniture of Empire,” he was putting into a static image the transactions by which Englishmen and natives conducted their business and kept their places. — Edward W. Said, Orientalism, 535 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Orientalist scholarship supplied the knowledge base that justified colonial rule — Edward W. Said, Orientalism, 864; Orientalist academic disciplines and the colonial corporation share one structure of thought — Wael Hallaq, Restating Orientalism: A Critique of…, 367; Orientalists’ self-image as individual visionaries concealed their shared colonial project — Edward W. Said, Orientalism, 598 (+14 more)

Broader Connections

• Orientalist scholarship functioned as working equipment for imperial rule. #corroborates (0.92) — Edward W. Said, Orientalism, 535
• Orientalism was internally divided rather than a monolithic colonial tool #complicates (0.87)
• Colonial knowing relied on inattention and adverted gazes more than surveillance #complicates (0.80)